BUTLER TWP — The kids, indeed, are alright.

If Tuesday’s home section meet with Fox Chapel and their noticeable contributions are during it any indication, youthful additions figure to serve both the Butler boys and girls track and field teams very well.

The Golden Tornado boys dispatched the Foxes by a 104-46 score and Butler’s girls won, 82-68.

The boys — which are two-time defending WPIAL champions — are tasked with evolving from having what head coach Mike Seybert calls the most complete senior class in school history a season ago to a mixture of talent

“We’re reloading,” Seybert said. “They’re performing in ninth grade as well as a lot of our freshman classes have ever done. You just have to be patient with it.

“It’s a fun challenge of rebuilding, because it was like a machine last year.”

The underclassmen have something to prove. Performances such as Tuesday’s should breed confidence, Seybert believes.

“They just need to fill their shoes and have an urgency to know that there are open spots there and they want to claim them,” he said.

The freshman crop includes Griffin Bauer and Marion Clark, both of whom are showing promise in the 400 meters. Jace Gratzmiller is pushing for a spot in that event, too, as well as the 200 meters and relay crews. Julian Soler and Mark Klemz are already participating in field events, Nicholas Niebauer and Ethan Thomas are proving themselves in the 800 meters, and Logan Rogers in the mile.

“These are names of kids that are going to go to battle, like, right now,” Seybert said.

Sophomore Zachary Slear won the 800 meters with a time of 2:08 and was part of the 3,200 relay team that placed first and set the tone for the meet, while Chris Rubcic placed third in the 100 meters and was part of the winning 400 and 1,600 relays.

“I think we’ve got a lot of bigger guys to push us and make us run a lot faster, especially Drew (Griffith) and (Landon) Lacey,” Rubcic said. “They just make us want to keep our school district really strong.”

Of course, accomplished junior Drew Griffith is still in the fold. He ran the mile in 4:44, while fellow junior Landon Lacey finished first in the 100 meters (11.62) and 200 meters (21.94).

“We know we have a pretty deep team of kids that are coming back and kids that have improved,” Seybert said. “But the younger kids (and) the kids that are just coming out now that weren’t around during the wintertime, we still have a long way to go.

“The kids are determined. They’re going to get to where they need to be. It’s just (that) the season goes quick. The big meets jump on us quickly. We need to be focused on the technical stuff, we need to be in better shape ... because — down the road — we have some bigger goals to hit.”

Girls

Before sophomore Madi McGarrah outraced everyone in the 800 meters, the Golden Tornado found itself down by 10 points to their guests. That, combined with points sweeps in the shot put and pole vault, helped Butler pull ahead in a hard-fought victory.

“We were planning that it was going to be pretty tight,” Golden Tornado girls head coach John Williams said. “Our kids fought. We’re going to have ups and downs all through the season, as well as during a track meet. That’s how you respond.”

Junior Ava Brewster ran away with the mile run earlier in the proceedings, finishing 24 seconds before Fox Chapel’s Sarah Michalak. Brewster and McGarrah were also part of the winning 3,200 relay and the former came out on top in the 3,200 meters (11:52) — an event she wasn’t initially even slated to run.

“It’s March, it’s early, but it’s important as a team,” Williams said. “Individuals stepped up for the team.”

Sophomore Channing Popovich won the high jump with a leap of 5 feet, 1 inch. Avalon Deitz won the 400 meters and Aubrey Rock the long jump. Rylee Jack also got to show off her speed and composure.

“She’s a freshman and — right now — she’s our fastest kid on the team,” Williams said of the latter. “She seems unfazed. Just goes out and runs. She’s, like, 14 running against 18-year-olds. It can be a little daunting.”

All in all, the effort was one that Williams sees his squad building on.

“Everybody wants to come out and start (with) what they ended up with last year,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of good stuff. We have challenges. We have to continue to get better ... The things we see today are going to help us in April and May.”

Boys

Butler 104, Fox Chapel 46

3,200 relay: Butler (Nicholas Niebauer, Logan Rogers, Drew Knight, Zachary Slear) 8:35.69; 110 hurdles: Chiu (FC) 18.90; 100 dash: Landon Lacey (B) 11.62; 1,600 run: Drew Griffith (B) 4:44.05; 400 run: Blum (FC) 53.52; 400 relay: Butler (Chris Rubcic, Landon Lacey, David Graef, Grayden Brown) 44.36; 300 hurdles: Christian Mortimer (B) 47.17; 800 run: Zachary Slear (B) 2:08.53; 200 dash: Landon Lacey (B) 21.94; 3,200 run: Owen Dressler (B) 10:11.85; 1,600 relay: Butler (Chris Rubcic, Griffin Bauer, Drew Knight, Landon Lacey) 3:33.80

Shot put: Feczko (FC) 40-3.5; Discus: Feczko (FC) 119-0; Javelin: Bryce Dryden (B) 124-1; High jump: Luke Campbell (B) 6-1; Long jump: Luke Campbell (B) 22-1.5; Triple jump: Tabur (FC) 40-3.5; Pole vault: Troy Ritzen (B) 11-6

Girls

Butler 82, Fox Chapel 68

3,200 relay: Butler (Madi McGarrah, Adraya Baxter, Ava Brewster, McLister) 10:32.97; 110 hurdles: Troutman (FC) 15.83; 100 dash: Quackenbush (FC) 13.39: 1,600 run: Ava Brewster (B) 5:29.93; 400 run: Avalon Deitz 1:06.01; 400 relay: Fox Chapel 51.72; 300 hurdles: Smith (FC) 48.80; 800 run: Madi McGarrah (B) 2:33.19; 200 dash: Quackenbush (FC) 27.84; 3,200 run: Ava Brewster (B) 11:52.25; 1,600 relay: Fox Chapel 4:28.42

Shot put: Carlie Baker (B) 28-8.5; Discus: Conti (FC) 111-10; Javelin: Sarah Lucas (B) 95-5; High jump: Channing Popovich (B) 5-1; Long jump: Aubrey Rock (B) 16-3.5; Triple jump: Megan Baggetta (B) 37-2; Pole vault: Evi Paserba (B) 7-0